


A Tale of Kittens and Witans

by ToBebbanburg



Series: Blades and Braids [3]
Category: The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, I know, M/M, actual plot for once guys, and a battle, and finan and sihtric start a family, but with a story, i'm shocked too, starting with the cat, still porn in there, there's a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:47:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24543301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBebbanburg/pseuds/ToBebbanburg
Summary: Finan and Sihtric are still warriors at heart, fighting for Uhtred and their land, but there's a creeping aspect of domesticity growing in their lives. It all starts when Hild convinces them to adopt a kitten from the nunnery...
Relationships: Finan/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom)
Series: Blades and Braids [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766368
Comments: 49
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

It started with a cat. A kitten, to be precise. Finan had been returning from a meeting with Uhtred about increasing Coccham’s defences when he saw Sihtric leaning over the low nunnery wall talking to Hild, who it transpired was looking after the nun’s large grey cat Mary. Mary had just had a litter of kittens. A lot of kittens.

“Thought you were all abstinent in there?” Finan joked to Hild as he peered down at the family of cats basking in the sun.

“We named her after the blessed mother, but she’s turned out to be more of a Mary Magdalene” Hild fondly stroked Mary’s grey fur, and the cat purred contentedly.

“What are you going to do with them all?” Finan asked. There were so many. Surely the nuns couldn’t keep all of them? He wondered if the runts would be drowned in a sack, but that didn’t seem like a particularly nun thing to do. Maybe that’s why Sihtric was there.

“Well, that’s where I thought you could help out.” Hild scooped one of the kittens into her arms and stood up.

“Oh no.” Finan could tell where this was going. He didn’t like the way Sihtric was looking at the creature.

“I heard that every good household needs a mouser.” Hild said with a sideways glance at Sihtric.

“We’re not a good household.”

“That’s lucky, because this one’s too little to be a good mouser yet. You can learn together.” Hild held one of the kitten’s paws and made it wave at Finan. Finan groaned.

“Hild, we don’t need a cat. We’re only here half the time anyways, it wouldn’t be fair to the wee thing to leave it alone while we go off fighting.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, cats can look after themselves. And besides-” -here Hild smiled dangerously- “Sihtric already offered to take one.”

“Why.” Finan asked flatly. It was more of a statement of disappointment than a question. Sihtric just shrugged.

“I like cats.”

“You also like badgers, but we’re not taking one of those into the house.”

“It’ll catch the mice.”

“I’ll catch the mice.” Finan argued. Sihtric snorted at that, and Hild was definitely trying to hide a smirk. Finan could sense that he was fighting a losing battle. He could protest as much as he wanted and at the end of the day Sihtric would still be returning home with the kitten. The worst part was, Sihtric also knew this, and he wore the expression of a man who knew he’d already won.

“Fine.” Finan sighed. “We’ll take one. Just one. Little runt probably won’t last a week anyway.”

“Excellent.” Hild said briskly, depositing the kitten into Sihtric’s arms before Finan could change his mind. The kitten yowled and stretched in its new position, and Sihtric looked thoroughly taken by it.

“He used to look at me like that.” Finan told Hild sadly. She rolled her eyes at him.

“What should we name it?” Sihtric asked him.

“It doesn’t need a name, just call it cat.” Finan said wearily. Both Sihtric and Hild made disappointed noises at him.

“I will call him... Uhtred.” Sihtric decided, knowing how much it would annoy their lord.

“ _He_ is actually a _she_.” Hild pointed out, smiling.

“Lady Uhtred.” Sihtric decided this was even better, and he tickled the kitten behind her ears. Finan had to admit, the idea of Sihtric chasing the cat around the village shouting for Uhtred was quite an amusing one.

“Uhtred it is.” He agreed.

“God forbid you two ever take in a child. Uhtred won’t like this.” Hild warned.

“Oh I’m counting on it.” Finan grinned.

****

Hild was correct: Uhtred did not like it. He had thought it amusing enough at first, but when the little kitten learnt how to hide and climb places she shouldn’t he soon tired of the constant calls for his name.

“Can’t you change her name?” he asked Finan as they stood together looking up at the tree Uhtred had got herself stuck in.

“She won’t answer to anything else, Lord.”

“A pity.”

They stood in silence for a while, studying the kitten. She had been chasing a bird, nimbly jumping from rooftop to rooftop, then leapt out onto the tree branch and now appeared too scared to attempt the jump back. Both Finan and Uhtred had been made aware of her escapades by the shouts of the village children calling for her to jump down.

“You had a cat, Lord. Did yours ever get stuck up a tree?”

“Gisela did, yes, but she managed to keep hers under control.” Uhtred said pointedly.

“Kept her cat like she kept her man, eh?” Finan joked. Uhtred bumped their shoulders together in rebuke.

“I was going to offer you the use of a ladder but now, Finan the Agile, you shall have to climb that tree on your own.”

“While you watch?”

“While I watch.”

Finan sighed and assessed the tree. It was climbable alright, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get back down whilst holding a cat. This was very much a task for Sihtric, who was almost like a cat himself in the way he could climb and dangle off almost anything. Well, he would at least try. Perhaps Uhtred would catch the cat if he dropped her down to him.

He easily climbed up onto the first sturdy branch, and took a moment to steady himself as he stood up on it. Uhtred the cat was almost direct above him, and holding onto another branch with one hand he held up the other, hoping she’d see the lifeline and hop onto it. She noticed, and meowed at him disdainfully.

“Come on.” Finan coaxed. “Come on Uhtred.”

Uhtred cursed beneath him but Finan kept his attention on the cat.

“Come on girl.” He tried.

Uhtred the cat shot him what could only be described as a look of pure disgust, and turned and ran back the way she had come, leaping majestically back onto the thatch of the nearest house. Uhtred the man laughed.

“I see you also keep your cat like you keep your man: neither listen to you and both like to hide in the shadows.” He called up.

Finan spat some choice words at Uhtred as he dropped back down.

“Sihtric doesn’t need to listen to me: he doesn’t get himself stuck in trees.” Finan shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand as he searched the low Coccham skyline for the damned cat. She was nowhere to be seen. Of course.

“She’ll grow out of it.” Uhtred consoled him. “Another few weeks, a month, and you’ll hardly see her.”

“I can only hope.” Finan said darkly. Uhtred was proving herself to be a true nuisance. She constantly mewled for attention, she never caught any mice, and she had the uncanny ability of appearing whenever he and Sihtric were humping. There was nothing more disconcerting than realising you were being watched while having your cock sucked, Finan decided, and told Uhtred as much.

“Then you should perhaps put a wall around your bed.” Uhtred suggested.

Finan mentally calculated how much longer Sihtric would be out scouting along the river and if that would give him time to erect a substantial wall around their bed. It would, he decided, but then he realised he would also have to build some sort of door so they could reach the bed, and it suddenly became too much work. A wall around the cat, perhaps. But Sihtric wouldn’t like that.

“Maybe she won’t come back tonight.” He said hopefully.

“Hold onto that hope, my friend.” Uhtred clapped him on the shoulder consolingly. “And I will help you with that wall tomorrow.”

****

To Finan’s delight, Uhtred the cat didn’t return to the house the rest of the day. Sihtric returned from his scout before nightfall and called for her, but she didn’t answer. Finan decided she’d finally caught a mouse and fallen asleep in a barn somewhere, fat from her kill. Or she’d been stolen by one of the village children to pet and feed for the evening. Either way, she wasn’t around, and for that he was grateful.

He and Sihtric managed to eat their evening meal in peace for once, without Uhtred around attempting to swipe their cups off the table, or steal their food. Sihtric was too tired from his travels for Finan to take advantage of being able to hump without the cat watching them, but it was still wonderful to be able curl up with him in his arms without a pair of luminous eyes staring from the corner.

It was only when the last of the light faded and Sihtric was halfway to falling asleep did Finan start to get concerned.

“Uhtred hasn’t come in yet.” he said.

“She’ll be fine.” Sihtric said sleepily.

“She’s normally back by now.” Finan persisted. As much as she annoyed him, he didn’t want anything to happen to the kitten. He didn’t like thinking about her stuck in another tree, or floating away down the river, or snapped up by some bigger animal lurking on the edges of the village.

“She’s probably just sleeping at the nunnery.” Sihtric gave him a comforting squeeze. Finan couldn’t understand how the other man wasn’t worried by this. Out of the two of them, Sihtric was the one who actually cared about the kitten.

“Shouldn’t you go and look for her?” Finan prompted. Sihtric groaned.

“I just want to sleep.” Sihtric rolled over to face the wall pulling the covers further up over his shoulders, a sign that he considered the conversation over. Finan also closed his eyes, but couldn’t relax enough to fall asleep.

Cursing the cat, then cursing Sihtric, then cursing Uhtred again for good measure, Finan got out of bed and slid down the ladder to their main room. He pulled on his boots and cloak and made his way out into the village, ears strained for any noise that could potentially be a cat in distress.

He’d do a lap of the inner walls, he decided, just to see if he could find the kitten. And if not, well… then he likely never would and he could go back to his warm bed, satisfied that he’d at least tried.

He heard the mewling at the far end of the village, coming from the same tree Uhtred had been stuck up earlier. Sure enough, when he drew nearer he could just about make out the shape of the kitten clinging desperately to one of the branches.

“Here, Uhtred.” He called softly, conscious of Edgar and his family likely asleep in the house right by the tree.

Uhtred peered down from her perch at him and cried softly.

“Shoo.” Finan tried to gesture towards the roof of Edgar’s house, the way Uhtred had made her escape before. She turned to look at the house, then back at him, her yellow eyes large and mournful. She didn’t even take a single step in the right direction. Finan sighed and studied the tree. He’d climbed it easily enough during the day, but in near total darkness it was a different thing. Deciding it was best to get it over with, Finan quickly kissed his cross necklace and climbed the tree. 

This time, when he climbed up into the branches, Uhtred wasted no time and jumped on him immediately, almost causing him to topple straight back out of the tree. Finan had to cling onto the trunk for dear life as Uhtred sunk her claws into his shoulder as she scrabbled to stay on him, and it took some careful manoeuvring to prise her off and tuck her safely inside his cloak so that he could use both hands to climb back down the tree.

He hurried home, the kitten bundled up snugly and purring happily as she warmed up. The purring was a welcome change from her usual yowling, Finan thought, as was the way she sleepily head-butted his hands when he gently took her out of his cloak and deposited her on the bundle of cloth Sihtric had declared as her bed. To his surprise, he found himself fondly stroking her head as she curled up for the night. Perhaps she wasn’t so bad after all.

****

“Did you find your kitten last night?” Uhtred asked Finan as they inspected the latest delivery of axe-heads the next morning. Finan eyed him suspiciously. He hadn’t mentioned last night’s search to anyone, and given that Sihtric was still peacefully snoozing into his pillow he doubted he had either.

“How did you know she was missing, Lord?”

Uhtred shrugged nonchalantly, checking the edge of one of the axe-heads with his finger. “Just a feeling.”

“Uhtred, did you steal my cat?”

“Are you accusing me of theft, Finan?” Uhtred raised an eyebrow.

“No, no Lord. Not at all.” Finan hurriedly said. Theft was a serious crime, and was severely punished. Accusations of theft, even of kittens, were not to be taken lightly.

Uhtred looked serious for a moment, then laughed. “Perhaps I might have encouraged your little cat back up that tree. And mentioned to Sihtric that you should be the one to retrieve her.”

Of course Sihtric had been in on it. Damn crafty Danes.

“But you worried for her, didn’t you?” Uhtred asked.

“A little.” Finan grudgingly admitted.

“And you were relieved to take her home?”

“....yes.”

“Then all worked out as hoped.” Uhtred grinned that self-satisfied smile of his that Finan always found impossible not to respond to.

“Next time you could just-“ Finan started, but was interrupted by a shout from an approaching horseman.

“Ah. I wondered when he’d come.” Uhtred remarked, dropping the axe-head back into its crate and giving a nod of approval to the merchant.

“You know this man, Lord?” Finan asked. He couldn’t recall seeing the man’s face before, but then again, he saw a lot of faces.

“No, but I know who sent him.”

“My Lord Uhtred.” The man jumped from his horse and headed over to them, brandishing a letter in his hand. He was breathing so heavily he looked as if he’d run to Coccham rather than ride. “My Lord, Edward has sent me on a matter of great urgency.”

“The Danes at Windlesora are preparing to march? I know.” Uhtred didn’t seem fazed in the slightest, and Finan recalled Sihtric’s scouting mission the day before. “And Edward wants me to call my men and retreat towards Wintanceaster to join his forces?”

“It’s in the letter, Lord.” The man said, still waving the letter. Uhtred ignored it.

“But that’s what he wants me to do.” Uhtred confirmed. The man looked at the letter, then at Uhtred, then nodded.

“Edward will have his men.” Uhtred announced, turning away from the man.

The man stuttered, the letter still in his hand. Finan took pity on him, and plucked the letter from his fingers. Uhtred could read, of course he could, he just chose not to most of the time. Finan reckoned it was a small act of rebellion against Alfred’s spirit.

“You can find food and ale in the hall.” Finan nodded in the right direction. The man looked slightly put out at receiving direction from Finan rather than Uhtred, but made his way to the hall nonetheless. Finan raced after Uhtred. His Lord was already talking to the stable master, checking the horses would be ready to travel.

“We must move swiftly.” He told Finan. “We have maybe two, three days before the Danes march, according to Sihtric’s report. I would prefer not to test his judgement by waiting. Wake Sihtric, have him help you alert the men.”

“Yes Lord.” Finan headed back to the house.

Sihtric was awake when he returned, though he hadn’t yet stirred from their bed. He smiled sleepily when Finan climbed the ladder to prod him into action.

“Come to join me?” he asked, twitching the blankets aside leaving a very tempting Finan-shaped spot next to him.

“The Danes at Windlesora, they’re getting ready to march west.” Finan told him.

“I know.” Sihtric yawned.

“We leave today. Edward’s orders.”

“Mmm.” Sihtric reluctantly pulled himself out of bed and down the ladder as Finan started to gather their belongings together. Uhtred the cat seemed to sense their imminent departure, and softly cried as she followed Finan around the house. Finan dropped his pack onto the table and picked her up instead.

“Time to take you to Hild.” He told her, feeling almost sad at the thought of leaving her behind.

“I knew you’d warm to her.” Sihtric laughed as he pulled his boots on, pausing to stroke Uhtred’s head and press a kiss to Finan’s cheek.

“Maybe slightly.” Finan admitted. Uhtred meowed and reached her paws up to swat at his chin. Finan moved her away. He hadn’t warmed to her enough to let her near his beard yet.

****

There was always an odd sort of tension in the air the night before a battle. Friends and strangers mingling around common fires, all silently wondering if they’d see the face in front of them again. Some men retreated into themselves, spending what could be their last night in solitude, in prayer. Other men spent their time laughing, and joking, making the most of the evening. And some men, Finan amongst them, needed a release of sorts.

He was sat in a large group of men around one of the camp fires. Some he knew- men from Coccham, who he’d fought with before- but others he had only known a matter of minutes. Uhtred was recalling stories from battles past, and most of the men were listening in intently. Uhtred was a good storyteller, but Finan had something else on his mind. _Someone_ else on his mind.

He looked away from Uhtred, meeting Sihtric’s eye across the fire and twitching an eyebrow, watching for Sihtric’s almost imperceptible nod in response. There it was.

“I need to piss.” Finan announced to the circle, standing up and exaggeratedly stretching.

“As do I.” Sihtric added. It wasn’t exactly subtle, but most of their companions were well aware of their relationship. The flimsy excuses were mostly there for show, for those sharing their fire who didn’t know them.

“But you’ve just been for a piss.” Osferth turned to Finan. “You must have the bladder of a pregnant woman.”

“I’ll piss on you if you don’t shush your mouth.” Finan warned him. Osferth just smiled.

Sihtric laughed, and made his way into the woods, Finan following. They headed deeper and deeper in until the glows from the fires were mere specks in the distance. It was almost too dark to see, the trees blocking out the moonlight, but Finan found his way to Sihtric easily enough, wrapping his arms round him and pulling him in for a kiss.

It had become a pre-battle ritual of sorts for them both. Make an excuse, slip away, and enjoy what could very well be one last private moment together. These moments were always fast, frantic: there would be plenty of time for slow and controlled after the fighting, God willing. Finan tangled one hand in Sihtric’s hair and pushed him up against a shadow he assumed was a tree, only pausing his assault on Sihtric’s mouth to suck on the precise spot on his neck that never failed to get his lover hard in an instant.

Right on cue, Sihtric moaned, low and needy, and his hands set to work undoing the laces of Finan’s trousers. His hand slipped inside, roughly cupping Finan before starting to stroke his cock in earnest. Finan struggled to reciprocate, as it was hard to coordinate his fingers to undo Sihtric’s trousers when Sihtric’s hand felt so good, but he soon managed to tug the other man’s trousers down enough to get his own grip around Sihtric’s cock.

It was awkward, like this, the angle not quite right, but Finan never wanted to risk either of them being caught on their knees, or God forbid, on their backs. Still, it was enough to have Sihtric in his arms, their mouths pressing together as they worked to bring each other to release as if it were a race. In some ways it was.

“Going to give you my cock later.” Finan grunted in Sihtric’s ear, knowing the effect his words always had on the Dane. “Spread you open on my fingers for hours, have you begging to be taken properly.”

Sihtric keened, his grip on Finan’s cock slipping slightly.

“I’ll blindfold you - tease you. You’ll never know where my hands are, where my mouth is. Maybe I’ll give you the hilt of my sword again, watch you hump it until you come and then, then I’ll take you.” He pulled on Sihtric’s earlobe with his teeth to emphasise his point, and Sihtric’s hand fell away from Finan completely at that. His head lolled back against the tree, his eyes closed as Finan sped up his movements, until a minute later he spent himself in Finan’s hand.

“Good.” Finan said soothingly as he pumped his hand another couple of times, seeing Sihtric through his orgasm. It took Sihtric only a moment to catch his breath, then he was back on Finan, spinning him round to face the tree. One hand started working his cock again while the other dipped down the back of Finan’s trousers and kneaded his arse. Finan folded his arms against the tree and rested his head on them as Sihtric gently slipped a single finger down to press against Finan’s opening, his other hand never ceasing its steady rhythm on his cock. Finan thrust back a little, groaning as Sihtric pushed just the tip of his finger inside, then shuddered as his orgasm rippled through him. He stayed resting against the tree as Sihtric carefully tucked him back in, which would have been a sweet gesture had he not known his lover was also using the opportunity to wipe his hands on Finan’s trousers rather than his own.

“Cheeky.” Finan huffed, but didn’t object when Sihtric turned him round to press their foreheads together.

“Tomorrow, if I should fall, I’ll see you in Heaven.” Sihtric told him. This was how all their stolen moments before a fight ended. Finan wasn’t sure who started it, but it felt like bad luck now if they neglected it.

“And I’ll see you in Valhalla.” Finan replied. He’d come to the conclusion that the two were the same, or at the very least were neighbouring camps in the realm of the Gods. His God was all loving, all forgiving: surely he wouldn’t begrudge Finan this one happiness in the afterlife.

He softly kissed Sihtric, enjoying the feel of the other man’s lips against his one last time. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are looking to be significantly less porn-y so enjoy it now while you can folks.

It should be worrying, Finan thought, that this was the first battle in a while when all the expected guards and fyrds were there and ready the night before. He had little time to dwell on the thought however, as all his attention was focused on keeping his shield overlapping with Uhtred’s. He could see the approaching Danes through the cracks in the shield wall, and his heart thumped as time seemed to slow, his vision tunnelling until all he could see were the men in front of him.

Battles were always a blur to him, interspersed with only a few moments of clarity. He had no idea how many men he’d taken down, or how many had managed to land a blow on him, only that he was still standing, still fighting, and somewhere close to his right Sihtric was too. Finan had lost his shield at some point, but gained an axe, and was duel wielding the weapons as someone- Edward he guessed - called for a halt.

The Danes had retreated slightly, but there were many of them still standing. Finan looked around, trying to work out what was happening, quickly searching faces to check that the men he knew were still with them. Sihtric was close, thank god, his eyes wild and his hair matted down with blood. Osferth was doubled over just a few paces beyond, and Finan’s heart jumped for a moment before Osferth straightened up, more or less unscathed. And Uhtred…

Uhtred was making for Edward, shouting angrily at the king, who in turn was slowly making his way towards one of the Danes. Whatever foolishness Edward was planning, Finan decided Uhtred would probably need help in stopping, so he also headed for the small gathering that was forming at the heart of the battlefield.

“-you doing? We need to be fighting, not talking.” Uhtred was trying to say to Edward, but the young man held up a hand to silence him. Uhtred looked very much like he wanted to cut the hand off, but he stayed quiet.

“You called a halt, I believe?” Edward turned to the Dane, who was now flanked by two fighters of his own. One of them grinned at Finan. He had no teeth.

“I did. You have us beaten, lord.” The Dane bowed his head. Finan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Surely they wouldn’t give up that easily: they might have been losing the battle, but in his experience Danes didn’t just give up. By the glower on Uhtred’s face, he guessed that his lord was thinking a similar thing.

“And do I get the name of the man I’ve apparently beaten?” Edward asked.

“Harald. Harald Magnuson.”

Edward turned expectantly to Uhtred. Uhtred shrugged.

“The only Harald Magnuson I ever heard of was too scared to leave the safety of Denmark to come over here. A coward.”

“And yet clearly brave or stupid enough to march on Wessex.” Edward narrowed his eyes at Harald.

“I had to try.” Harald said amicably. “Otherwise I’d lose my men. But you have me beat, lord, and I’d prefer to talk about peace than fight. As your father would have.”

“Your father wouldn’t have let him still stand, lord.” Finan muttered to Edward. Not strictly true, but he didn’t trust this Harald one bit. Edward, however, ignored him: he was too easily swayed by the talk of his father.

“He would.” Edward agreed with Harald. “So let us talk. I’ll have men bring up chairs from my camp and we can discuss the terms of your surrender.”

“Lord-” Uhtred’s warning was clear in his voice, but Edward silenced him again.

“Agreed.” Harald smiled, and bowed, and turned away with his men to relay the news to his troops.

Edward, looking rather pleased with himself, made ready to return to his own men, but no sooner had his back turned then Harald charged at him, axe in hand.

It was Finan who managed to react first, throwing himself at Edward to tackle him to the ground, out of harm’s way. Above him, Uhtred had swung his own sword at Harald, and the Dane’s body fell to the ground next to Finan a second later. There were shouts, both from the men on either side and from Edward, who was still trapped below Finan’s body, but Finan found he couldn’t get up. There was something wrong, something hurt, and he realised with a sick jolt that Harald’s axe had struck him in the leg. He managed to roll himself off Edward and the king sprung to his feet, rushing straight back into battle.

Gritting his teeth, Finan tried to force himself to stand, but his wounded leg refused to cooperate and he fell back down immediately. The fighting had cleared from him a little, as the Danes were pushed further and further back. He groaned, and reached for his sword. He could still stab a few ankles from on the ground.

The chaos raged on around him, and Finan marvelled that he wasn’t trampled. It took him a minute to realise that Sihtric was standing above him, striking down anyone who came near. He didn’t waste his breath on talking to Finan, didn’t expose himself by kneeling down to check him over and for that Finan was grateful. He wouldn’t have Sihtric placing himself in danger on his account. Finan did manage to hack at a pair of legs that managed to make it pass Sihtric’s barrier, feeling immensely satisfied when the Dane fell over with a cry.

He had no idea how long the battle raged on for, but as with all fights it eventually came to an end, and luckily for Finan the end came soon. With the last few men fighting well off in the distance, Sihtric dropped to his side, pulling off his own belt and tying it like a vice above the bleeding wound in Finan’s leg.

“You are a fool.” Sihtric told him, his fingers deftly testing the edges of Finan’s ragged skin, working out how bad the cut was.

“I saved the king though.” Finan pointed out, then winced. Sihtric was thorough with his assessment, at the cost of being gentle.

“As I said. A fool.” Sihtric pulled one of Finan’s arms around his shoulders and hoisted him into a standing position. Well. A leaning position, as there was no way on this earth that Finan was putting any weight on his injured leg. Together they hobbled back to the camp, Sihtric getting frustrated at the pace halfway along and picking Finan up to carry him bridal-style. Finan protested, of course, but he was thankful he no longer had to hop back, and Sihtric’s arms were a strong, safe cage around him.

Sihtric deposited Finan amongst the other wounded; a leg wound, Finan discovered, was considered a relatively low priority for the healer, who gave him a brisk once over and told him she’d get to him later. Sihtric disappeared for a moment at that and came back with a flask of water and a bandage that looked suspiciously like one of Finan’s own shirt-sleeves. He carefully cut away the material around the wound, washing it out with water. It hadn’t struck bone, by the look of it, but it was a long cut, and ragged. Sihtric wrapped the bandage tight around Finan’s leg, all whilst frowning at the healer.

“You should go.” Finan told him as Sihtric finished tying a knot in the bandage.

“I don’t wish to leave you.” Sihtric replied, helping Finan move into a more comfortable position.

“I’m fine.” Finan waved his hand and tried very hard not to think about the immense pain in his leg. “You should raid the Danish camp with the others- bring us back some new silverware. We need more cups.”

“Cups.” Sihtric said flatly.

“Yes, cups. Uhtred keeps denting them.”

“You want me to leave you to bleed out in a field just so I can get some more cups?” There was a definite edge of exasperation to Sihtric’s voice.

“I want you to make sure Uhtred doesn’t do something stupid.” Finan said, then added “but also the cups.” Lady Uhtred had a habit of viciously swiping them from the table, and most if not all of their cups now had dents and scuffs from falling onto the floor.

“Fine.” Sihtric told a hold of Finan’s hand and raised it to his lips. “Don’t go wandering off.”

“I won’t.” Finan smiled weakly as Sihtric stood up and headed off back to the battlefield, then decided that staying conscious was over-rated and slipped into peaceful darkness.

****

Finan woke up to crying. He was in a tent, which was a welcome change of scene, but on closer inspection he appeared to be sharing the tent with a very small and very loud baby. It was a tiny thing, swaddled in blankets and laid to rest on a mat next to him. There was a girl too, Finan noticed, who could hardly have been more than five years old. Thankfully, she wasn’t crying. He couldn’t take two crying things right now.

“Is it yours?” he asked the girl, gesturing towards the baby. She stared at him. “Your brother.” Finan clarified. Still no response.

She was a neat little girl, with long red hair that obscured most of her face and a blue dress that was miraculously mostly clean of mud. She was sat cross-legged across from the baby, her back to the wall of the tent.

“What’s your name?” he asked her. She answered him in a language he didn’t quite understand: Danish, he realised, though it was a dialect he didn’t recognise. He’d thought his grasp of the language was passable up until this point.

“Can you stop the crying?” he asked, even though he knew she couldn’t understand him. It was worth a try: he’d give anything to stop the piercing screams. She just looked at him, remaining silent. The baby, however, carried on crying.

Summoning all his strength, Finan leant over and picked the baby up, hoping that rocking it in his arms would stop the incessant noise. It didn’t. What it did do though, was summon Sihtric and Uhtred to the tent.

“It won’t stop crying.” Finan told them with a hint of desperation in his voice, as the baby was doing its best to wake the dead with its screaming. He experimentally turned it upside down to see if that would make a difference and a chorus of voices cried out for him to stop. He sheepishly turned the baby the right way up again.

“Well at least you’re awake.” Uhtred said wryly.

“It’s impossible not to be with this one.” Finan looked down at the baby. Its eyes were screwed tightly shut, probably to allow more space for its mouth to open and make noise with.

“It needs feeding.” Sihtric guessed.

“Or changing.” Uhtred added.

“Well I can’t help with either.” Finan said, deciding that if indeed the baby did need changing then the best course of action was to hold it at arm’s length. Sihtric shook his head in despair and took the child off him, rocking it gently in his arms.

“It needs a nursemaid.” Sihtric said in a lowered voice to Uhtred, who nodded.

“I’ll see if I can find one. Or indeed, the mother.” Uhtred left the tent, leaving Finan and Sihtric alone with the baby. And the girl, who still did nothing but stare at them.

“How are you?” Sihtric asked Finan, sitting down opposite him.

“Sore.” Finan said truthfully. Now he wasn’t holding the baby he took the opportunity to inspect his leg. The makeshift bandage Sihtric had used was still there, but the healer had clearly taken it off to stitch the wound up and apply a poultice of some sort. In Finan’s experience the most important thing was to keep the wound clean for the next week or so, lest infection set in and cost him an entire limb. Perhaps even his life. He’d seen men die from less, and wasn’t keen to follow them: it was almost as bad as the sickness. Satisfied that for now, at least, his leg was fine, he turned to the other issue at hand.

“Where did the children come from?” he asked.

“Harald’s- we found them in the camp with a few women and stragglers.”

To stop the baby crying Sihtric had given it one of his fingers to chew on. The baby’s sobs subsided as it gnawed on the finger as a dog would a bone. It didn’t look particularly comfortable for Sihtric, who noticed Finan’s concerned look.

“No teeth.” He explained. “But they’re coming, I’d wager.”

“I’m glad one of us knows what to do with it.” Finan said. “I don’t suppose you can help with that one too? Don’t think she speaks English.” He jerked his head over to the girl, who at least realised they were talking about her and said something in her weird Danish.

Sihtric laughed, and replied to her. She grinned, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

“She said that you’re as useless with the baby as her father was.” He told Finan.

“And you told her what?”

“That you’re useless with everything.” Sihtric teased. Finan would have thumped him had it not been for the baby in his arms.

“Does she know? About her father?” Finan asked. The girl seemed remarkably calm for someone whose father had just been killed in battle, and was now a hostage of the enemy.

“She does. She doesn’t seem to care. Either he was never that kind to her or she doesn’t quite understand that he’s gone. She’s called Inge, by the way.”

Inge recognised her name and smiled, saying something to Finan. He concentrated hard, and though her dialect was hard to understand he managed to pick out enough words to realise she was introducing herself to him.

“Finan.” He said, pointing at himself.

“Finan.” She repeated, then launched into another string of incomprehensible Danish. She spoke too fast, that was the problem. When Sihtric and Uhtred spoke in Danish they spoke slower, clearer, although Finan was beginning to wonder if that was all for his benefit.

“What’s happening with them?” he asked Sihtric. They likely wouldn’t serve much use as hostages with their father dead, unless they had an uncle with an army and a good heart. Otherwise he supposed they would be given to the Church.

“We don’t know.” Sihtric replied. “Edward wants to split them up. Send Inge to a nunnery in Mercia and keep the baby in Wintanceaster, raise it as a Saxon. Uhtred wants to take them both back to Coccham. Raise them as Danes, as they should be.”

“And I imagine neither of them are willing to back down?” Finan asked. Sihtric shook his head. Finan knew what he would do: compromise, and send one to Coccham and the other to Wintanceaster. But neither Uhtred or Edward were in the habit of compromising.

“We’re to travel to Wintanceaster. Assemble the Witan and decide what to do. As if they were treasure to be divided, not children.” There was a rare hint of anger in Sihtric’s voice. It was one of the things Finan loved about him: Sihtric was generally laid back, obedient to Uhtred, but when something really mattered to him there was a cool anger that came to the surface. He was about to say something horribly romantic then, but Uhtred chose that moment to return to the tent, a woman in tow.

“I’ve found something better than your finger.” He told Sihtric, reaching down to take the baby and pass it to the woman.

She wasted no time in shrugging her dress loose and letting the baby feed, resolutely glaring at the men as she did so. The glaring made Finan distinctly uncomfortable, and he didn’t much fancy being left in the tent with it, so he managed to convince Sihtric and Uhtred to help him up and out of the tent. Besides, someone had started cooking nearby, and God he was as hungry as the baby.

****

The journey to Wintanceaster was slow, as most men weren’t on horseback. They made camp several times along the road, and over the few days’ travel Finan was slowly able to put more weight on his leg, though not for long. Osferth had found him a suitably sturdy stick and wrapped some strips of leather and fleece around the top creating a decently padded crutch. Finan liked to use it to poke people.

The nursemaid Uhtred had found for the baby, while content to feed the child, wanted no part in caring for it, and so once again Finan found himself on child-minding duty. Sihtric had nicknamed the baby Bitr, for the boy was definitely teething. Inge didn’t seem to know what her brother was called, nor did she care. Babies, she told Finan in her hideous Danish, were boring. She reminded him of Stiorra.

She was entertaining in her own way, babbling to Finan as they travelled, seemingly not caring that he only understood what she was saying half the time, or that when he did answer his own Danish was halting and muddled. He gathered that Harald, unimpressed with his first born being a girl, had had little to do with her. Bitr was her half-brother by another woman who’d died in childbirth half a year ago. She liked Wessex, she told him. She liked the flowers.

It was a relief when they reached Wintanceaster, and piled into an inn that had solid walls and plenty of ale. As Edward hadn’t officially called the Witan yet they managed to find rooms to stay in easily enough, for which Finan was relieved. Sleeping rough whilst travelling was one thing, but sleeping in a stable whilst in Wessex’s greatest city was different.

“Oh sweet Jesus a proper bed.” Finan fell flat on his back onto one of the cots in the small room he was expected to share with Sihtric, Uhtred, and Osferth. Just because there were rooms available did not mean they had the luxury of private lodgings. Edward’s ealdormen and retainers were in similar situations across the city, so Finan saw no reason to complain. Well. He maybe had one reason.

“How are we supposed to get a moment’s peace with two grown men and two less than grown children in here with us.” He muttered to Sihtric. “And when I say peace, I mean _peace_.” He put a lot of emphasis on the last word, hoping Sihtric would get his meaning. All their time together, and still Sihtric missed most of Finan’s subtleties. Thankfully, the Dane caught his implication.

“Leave it with me.” He grinned.

Finan watched as Sihtric went over to Osferth said something in hushed tones. A moment later Osferth announced to the room that he would take Inge and Bitr downstairs to sort food for them, and he strongly advised that Uhtred should check in with Edward sooner rather than later. Finan found himself holding his breath as Osferth picked Bitr up and took Inge by the hand, shepherding Uhtred out of the room as he left. Uhtred managed to escape Osferth and poked his head back into the room before the door shut.

“Half an hour. No more.” He said sternly.

“Yes, lord.” Finan replied, feeling rather like a child. He waited until Uhtred’s footsteps had faded away before turning to Sihtric.

“How much did Osferth want?” Finan asked as Sihtric set about taking his armour off. Sihtric laughed.

“Nothing.”

“Bastard. He always makes me pay when I want a favour from him.”

“Have you tried asking nicely?” Sihtric asked innocently.

“Shut up.”

“Make me.” Sihtric smirked, climbing onto the bed on top of Finan, making sure not to knock his bandaged leg. Finan always liked a challenge, so pulled Sihtric’s head down towards his until their lips met. He wasted no time in sending his tongue out into Sihtric’s mouth, coaxing the other man into responding. He withdrew in order to suck hard on Sihtric’s bottom lip before returning to his mouth, lazily flicking his tongue against his lover’s.

“You know you’ll have to do all the work?” he asked breathlessly, nudging Sihtric with his wounded leg to make his point. Sihtric merely rolled his eyes before moving back in for another kiss.

For all Finan’s joking, it was incredibly hard to force himself to stay still. His legs instinctively scrabbled for purchase on the bed as Sihtric rucked his shirt up, bending down to tease Finan’s nipples with his teeth. A sharp jolt of pain shot up his leg as he did, and Finan tried to disguise his grunt of pain with a cough. It didn’t fool Sihtric, who looked him dead in the eye and frowned.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this yet.” He said.

“No, no we should. I’m fine.” Finan protested. Sihtric didn’t look entirely convinced, and prodded Finan’s thigh just above the bandage. Finan grit his teeth.

“Well of course it’s going to hurt if you do that.”

Sihtric was still wary, and so Finan reached his arms up to grab a hold of Sihtric’s shirt and pull the man down towards him, hoping to distract him with more kisses. His plan worked, and worked even better when Finan reached a hand down between them to palm at the front of Sihtric’s trousers, delighting at how the other man hardened under his hand. Finan tucked his good leg around Sihtric, pulling him closer, but Sihtric carefully pushed him back onto the bed.

“I thought I was the one doing all the work.” He said, running his hands down Finan’s sides before coming to rest on his belt. Finan was about to reply, but Sihtric had ducked his head down to suck at Finan’s cock through his trousers, and whatever he had wanted to say fled his mind.

Sihtric wasted no time in unbuckling Finan’s belt and untying the laces of his trousers, carefully pulling them down slightly in order to get at his cock properly. He lightly licked the head as his hand pumped Finan, working him into full hardness. As Sihtric took him fully in his mouth it took all of Finan’s self-restraint not to thrust up into the wet heat. Sihtric seemed to read his mind and firmly placed his hands on Finan’s hips, holding him down as bobbed up and down on Finan’s cock, each thrust pushing deeper and deeper down his throat.

Finan reached down to tangle a hand in Sihtric’s hair, forcing him further down onto his cock until his nose was pressed against Finan’s stomach. Sihtric moaned around him and a wave of pleasure swept through Finan. Sihtric let him set the pace, and it wasn’t long until Finan was spilling into Sihtric’s mouth, muffling his groans with the pillow. When he looked up Sihtric had his own cock out, and by the way he was biting his lip and looking down at Finan he was moments away from coming himself.

Finan deliberately looked from Sihtric’s cock to his face, wetting his lips, and Sihtric took the hint, scooting up the bed to press his cock to Finan’s mouth. Finan decided to tease him, tongue darting out to dance around the head and lap across the slit before he sucked just the head into his mouth, all while looking up at Sihtric. Sihtric was barely holding on, his hips thrusting forward even as he tried to let Finan have his way, and eventually Finan took pity on him and jerked him off, lips still playing at the tip of his cock. He managed to swallow most of Sihtric’s come, then licked his cock clean for good measure.

“See? Nothing to worry about.” He said smugly. “Next time you can ride me.”

“ _Next time_ will be when you can walk without help.” Sihtric told him.

“So harsh.” Finan complained. Mentally, he gave Sihtric another two, perhaps three days before he gave in, no matter what he said now. He pulled Sihtric down to his good side, idly playing with his hair. His braids had come loose sometime during the battle, and Finan hadn’t had a chance to redo them yet. Sihtric made a contented noise and made himself comfy using Finan’s chest as a pillow.

“Oh no, don’t you go to sleep.”

“Just a nap.” Sihtric mumbled.

“It’s never ‘just a nap’” Finan protested, but Sihtric just yawned in response. Fine. He’d get Osferth to fetch him some food when he came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spell check keeps wanting me to write about Finn, Triassic, and Hatred, so maybe one day I'll write an AU where everything's the same except everyone's just a huge angry fuckin dinosaur.


	3. Chapter 3

If there was one thing that was getting Finan through this Witan, it was that Uhtred was having a much worse time of it than he was. His lord had to actually pay attention, for starters, rather than drifting off into daydreams as Finan was currently doing. Uhtred had to think carefully about what he was saying and when to say it; Finan just had to glower at the right moments and nod approvingly whenever Uhtred made a point. His forehead was starting to hurt from the glowering.

The Witan had been in session since morning, only breaking for food and prayers, and Finan’s leg was starting to ache. He wouldn’t trade being Uhtred’s right-hand man for anything, but at this moment he would have much preferred to be lounging outside with Harald’s children as Sihtric and Osferth currently were.

The children hadn’t even been discussed by the Witan yet. It had all been exaggerated displays of dismay that the Danes had managed to make so much headway into Wessex without being confronted, and half-thought-out plans of how to prevent such an instance in the future. Uhtred had suggested early on in proceedings that Edward should talk to Aethelflaed and Mercia about presenting a united front, and things had only deteriorated from there. Edward was more than reluctant to involve his sister, though in Finan’s considered opinion that was clearly the best course of action. The young king was as stubborn as a mule, and Finan could practically see Uhtred’s patience unravelling in front of him.

He was just starting to wonder what would happen if he passed out from the steadily growing pain in his thigh when Edward thankfully called an end to the day’s proceedings. For the life of him, he couldn’t name one solid outcome that had emerged out of the hours of debate. The whole day had blurred into a boring, nonconstructive mess.

“We’ll discuss the children tomorrow.” Edward told Uhtred as he left the hall. Uhtred dutifully nodded, but then shook his head in annoyance at Finan once the king was out of sight.

“These Witans are just as frustrating as anything Alfred ever held.” Uhtred muttered to Finan as he helped him hobble outside. Finan wasn’t too proud to refuse his lord’s offer of support, and gratefully leant on him as they navigated the clumps of priests and ealdormen who preferred to make nuisances of themselves inside the hall rather than leaving.

“At least you got a seat.” Finan pointed out. Uhtred laughed.

“I will find you a stool tomorrow, my friend. And if Alfred refuses I shall sit on the floor and you shall have mine.”

It would be incredibly disrespectful to sit on the floor in front of the king, and Finan could tell that Uhtred was rather hoping it would come to that. It would certainly make proceedings more interesting, for a short while at least.

They found Sihtric and Osferth sitting on the steps outside, waiting for them. Osferth was holding a book in one hand while the other gently rubbed the belly of a dozing Bitr, and Sihtric was whittling again. Inge was watching him intently, chattering suggestions to him as he worked.

“Sihtric’s making me a horse.” She told Finan happily when she looked up and noticed him. He was slowly beginning to understand more of her dialect which was a relief, as she had so far rebuked any efforts they took to teach her English.

“One horse, than another, and another, and another, and I’ll have a whole army of horses.” She said, stamping her feet in excitement.

Sihtric looked mildly alarmed at this: clearly, he had been under the impression the horse he was currently working on would be the only one. Finan chuckled and slowly lowered himself down to join him on the steps. Sitting down was the best thing that had happened to him all day, and he closed his eyes to better enjoy the feeling of the strain being taken from his legs and the late afternoon sun on his face.

“Any decision on the children yet, lord?” Osferth asked, closing his book. Finan didn’t see it, but he knew Uhtred was shaking his head.

“Edward says tomorrow, but who can say.” He sounded weary.

“Why do we need to wait on Edward? Let’s just take the children back to Coccham. They are too small for him to miss for long.” Sihtric said. He’d finished work on the wooden horse and traded it for Bitr, picking the boy up and bouncing him on his knee. The baby gurgled happily and dribbled on himself.

Uhtred sighed. “Edward wants to make a point. Take a Dane, raise him as a good, Saxon Christian. It’s a move his father would have made.”

“It’s a move his father _did_ make.” Finan pointed out, thinking about Young Uhtred. Uhtred’s face clouded at the mention of his son, and Finan decided it was time to quickly change the subject.

“Who wants food? I’m starving.”

Inge, for all that she refused to learn to speak English, had easily picked up the word “food” and the sound of it now tore her attention away from the horse and towards Finan.

“Food.” She repeated firmly.

“Please.” He told her. He and the others might not be the best examples around of good manners, but that was no excuse for Inge not to learn.  
  
“Please.” She echoed, though he got the impression she thought it was just another word for food. It was a start though.

****

All things considered, an inn was not the best place to take a child for food (though they had little choice in the matter). There had been a fistfight coming to an end when they arrived, and it looked like another was just about to start. Somewhere beyond their table was a whore who wasn’t so much advertising her business as straight up practising it, and there was an old man in the darkest furthest corner who was almost definitely dead. Finan had had half a mind to make Inge take her plate and eat in their room upstairs, but she seemed blissfully unaware of her surroundings as she made her wooden horse gallop across the table. The only good thing about the place was that the crowd in the inn was loud enough to drown out Bitr’s cries.

“How does she do that, do you think?” Osferth asked, gazing at the space above Inge’s head.

Finan looked over his shoulder. The whore was incredibly flexible, he had to admit. He realised Inge was also turning around to look, and quickly steered her head back to the table.

“I know they’re ugly, but you’re better off looking at them than _that_.” The insult didn’t seem to register with either Osferth and Uhtred, who were both far more concerned with the performance happening behind Finan.

“I think that’s your wife, Sihtric.” Uhtred joked, his head slightly tilted to one side.

Sihtric cursed him, but couldn’t resist turning around to see what the others were so captivated with.

“It’s not that hard.” He shrugged.

“You couldn’t do that.” Osferth said in disbelief.

Finan had another look behind. It looked like the position required an awful lot of core strength, which to his credit Sihtric did possess. He wasn’t sure how well he could balance on one leg for that long, however.

“I reckon he could if- _no_.” The ‘no’ was in response to Inge, who had again tried to turn around. This time Sihtric placed his hand over her eyes. She scrambled at it, trying to prise his fingers away, but to no avail.

“No more horses if you turn around.” He told her. She stopped struggling immediately and he tentatively removed his hand.

“Perhaps we should blindfold her?” Uhtred suggested.

“Or perhaps, it’s time to take the wee ones upstairs?” Finan countered. They’d finished eating, mostly, and he was feeling far too on edge trying to stop Inge from witnessing things she shouldn’t.

“You go.” Uhtred waved his mug of ale dismissively, his gaze firmly fixed on the whore again.

“You enjoy yourself, lord.” Finan told him. “And make sure Osferth’s eyes stay _inside_ his head.”

He led Inge upstairs, careful to position himself behind her so that if she turned around again all she’d see was his legs. Sihtric followed with Bitr, who had seemingly cried himself to sleep at some point during the evening. The baby was gently laid down in the basket they’d procured for him, Sihtric making sure the blankets were snugly tucked around him. Inge dived onto Finan’s bed, ignoring the pile of furs on the floor that they’d designated as her bed.

“Hey. Off.” He tried to shoo her off but she refused.

“I don’t understand.” She said innocently in Danish, wriggling to make herself more comfortable.

“Off.” Finan said again, but in Danish. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Sihtric promised he’d do my hair.” She told him.

“And I’m a man of my word.” Sihtric joked, rummaging through their packs for the comb he and Uhtred could never agree ownership of. Inge kicked the mattress impatiently as she waited, but stopped and pulled her best innocent expression when Finan raised an eyebrow at her. Comb retrieved, Sihtric sat on the bed and prompted Inge to shift so she sat directly in front of him, then shot a glance at Finan.

“If you’re feeling left out, you can do mine.” He said with a smirk.

Finan thought about pretending he wasn’t fussed, but decided against it. He found it oddly relaxing to braid Sihtric’s hair. He settled himself behind Sihtric and carefully undid his braids, making a pile of silver beads as he worked his way along. He started combing the tangles out with his fingers as he waited for Sihtric to finish brushing Inge’s hair with the comb. He noticed that Sihtric reached behind him to take one of his own beads out of the pile and thread it into Inge’s hair before passing the comb over to Finan.

In that moment, Finan was incredibly glad that Sihtric kept half of his head shaved, as the hair he did have was so matted and tangled Finan’s fingers were starting to cramp by the time he’d combed all the knots out, and he hadn’t even started the braids yet. Next time, he’d get Sihtric to brush his own hair. Inge’s braids were already done by then, and she scooted round to sit next to Finan and watch as he started to braid Sihtric’s hair.

“Here, you hold these.” Finan transferred the pile of beads to Inge’s hands, and she dutifully passed him them one by one as he worked his way along Sihtric’s hair. She was incredibly pleased with her own single bead, pulling the braid in front of her face and batting the piece of silver, watching it swing like a pendulum. She reminded Finan a little of Uhtred the cat. When he was finally done, she critically ran her fingers over Sihtric’s braid, deciding it met with her approval with a nod.

“He’s not useless at _everything_.” She told Sihtric, with a pointed look at Finan.

“Well thank you very much.” Finan huffed.

“Now I’ll do yours!” she announced, pointing to the one tiny braid he wore behind his ear.

Finan faltered, not wanting to let her down but also very much not wanting to let her anywhere near his hair. Matters weren’t helped by the fact he could see Sihtric silently chuckling in the corner of his eye.

“I’ll redo whatever she does, don’t worry.” Sihtric told him once he stopped laughing at the fear in Finan’s eyes.

Finan had to sit on the floor with his back to the bed in order to let Inge reach, and he spent several excruciating minutes as she tugged on his hair. By the feel of things, she yanked a few hairs out in her attempts to braid a tight enough plait to hold his beads in. She struggled as she got to the end, Finan’s hair not long enough for her to comfortably braid.

“You finish it.” She told Sihtric, who obligingly took over, deftly undoing her work and quickly redoing Finan’s hair before she could notice.

“Good?” Finan asked her once Sihtric was done.

She nodded, satisfied with what she thought was her work.

“Good.” Finan nodded then leant in close. “Now clear off our bed.”

Inge shook her head vigorously, and Finan decided the time for words was over. He tickled her mercilessly as she kicked and tried to tickle back, and eventually she slid off the bottom of the bed and onto the floor to escape, laughing loudly. Finan noticed Sihtric enjoying the whole tussle and turned on him, grinning dangerously.

“I wouldn’t get too comfy: you’re next.”

  
****

The Witan the next day was much more productive and much less boring, though for reasons that didn’t please either Finan or Uhtred. As promised, the issue of Harald’s children was discussed; Edward fighting hard to send both children to separate churches, Uhtred arguing to take them both back to Coccham. Eventually, a compromise was agreed on, and Uhtred again helped Finan limp outside to deliver the verdict.

The others were back at the inn with Bitr’s nursemaid, and Sihtric jumped instantly to his feet when Finan and Uhtred returned.

“Well?” he demanded, though by the resigned look on Uhtred’s face he must have known it wouldn’t be the news he wanted.

“Inge is to come back to Coccham with us. Either Hild and the nuns will take her or I will. The boy is to remain in Wintanceaster.” Uhtred relayed the news.

“No.” Sihtric said.

“No?” Uhtred challenged, raising an eyebrow. The only time Finan could remember Sihtric disagreeing with Uhtred was years ago, and that had been a carefully orchestrated plan to allow Sihtric to infiltrate the enemy camp. Finan doubted that was the case this time.

“No.” Sihtric repeated.

“Sihtric, we have discussed this for hours. Edward will not be contradicted. At the very least we can take Inge with us, be thankful for that.” Uhtred explained, and Finan nodded in agreement. It had taken hours. Edward and his most loyal ealdormen had fought hard for both children to be raised by the church, but in the end the king had relented and allowed Uhtred to take custody of one of the children- Inge, naturally, as he deemed Bitr as more important. Bitr, who would soon be christened as Alfred under Edward’s orders.

“So we take both the children and leave now.” Sihtric’s eyes were dark.

“Sihtric.” Uhtred’s voice was stern. “This is the best outcome we could get, and I am your lord and _you will obey me_.”

Sihtric glared at Uhtred for a moment then snarled and left the room, too frustrated to even slam the door behind him.

“Finan.” Uhtred sighed, rubbing his temples, and Finan knew what Uhtred wanted him to do without him having to say.

“I’ll talk to him, lord.” He promised, going after Sihtric as fast as his leg would let him.

Sihtric was fast, too fast for Finan to keep up with, and he only managed to catch him by virtue of Sihtric being stopped by Edward’s guards outside his hall. Sihtric, unarmed but for his dagger and without a piece of armour on him, was arguing intently with four very well armoured men. Four men to replace one Steapa, Finan thought with a half-smile as he walked over to try and calm the situation down.

“What seems to be the trouble?” Finan asked in his most cheerful tone. Sihtric rounded on him instantly.

“I need to see Edward, but these turds won’t even let me in.”

“And why won’t you turds let him in?” Finan asked the guards.

“Because he has no official business with the king. And he’s a filthy Dane.” One of the guards snorted.

“He’s cleaner than you, I’d wager.” Finan said, still trying to keep his easy tone up. It wouldn’t do to start a fight here, not now.

“He belong to you then?” another guard asked.

_Yes_ , Finan wanted to say, but that wasn’t strictly what the guard was asking.

“He’s Lord Uhtred’s man.” He said instead.

“Well tell Lord Uhtred he needs to keep his dog on a tighter leash.” The first guard said, in a tone that indicated the conversation was over, or else. Sihtric spat at him.

“You need to calm down.” Finan murmured in his ear, placing his hands lightly on Sihtric’s forearms. Not restraining him, not yet, though he could feel Sihtric’s muscles tense. “Getting yourself killed won’t help the children.” He added.

Sihtric growled a curse at the guards but allowed himself to be led away by Finan. They didn’t return to their inn; Finan decided Sihtric wasn’t in the right frame of mind to return to Uhtred just yet. Instead he steered a mute Sihtric over to a quiet looking alehouse, and ordered them both mugs of ale. Finan drank his gratefully - he had got incredibly thirsty during the Witan - though Sihtric just stared at his, his brow furrowed.

“It’s not right.” Sihtric said eventually.

“It’s not.” Finan agreed. “But be a good boy and drink your ale.”

Sihtric mutinously took a gulp from his mug.

“Look, this is the best you can hope for. At least one child can be raised as a Dane.” Finan reasoned. Sihtric looked like he was wrestling with himself as he tried to put his feelings into words.

“It’s not-” he started, then tried again. “I’d rather both were raised as Christians, together, than have them separated.”

Finan suddenly understood. This whole time he’d assumed that Sihtric, like Uhtred, objected mostly to Edward forcing Christianity onto the young Danes, but it was more than that. It was about family.

“I have no siblings. My father had my mother killed when I was young and hardly looked at me twice after, nor did I want him to. Growing up alone is not a fate I would wish on anyone and yet Edward-” Sihtric took a deep breath- “Edward is willing to tear the children apart, after they’ve already lost their parents. It’s not right.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Finan cast a quick look around to make certain no one was watching, then slid his hand across the table to cover Sihtric’s and gave it a squeeze.

“The children won’t be alone.” He tried. “Inge wall have us and Uhtred, and Hild. And Bitr will be too young to ever miss his sister.”

“That’s not the same.” Sihtric said, and he was right.

“I know.” Finan said again. He was starting to feel inadequate- there wasn’t anything he could do to change Edward’s mind, and not much he could say to make Sihtric feel better. The best he could do was sit in silence as Sihtric drank his ale and calmed down, and hope that he didn’t try anything stupid.

“Another round?” a voice asked from behind his shoulder, and Finan hastily withdrew his hand from Sihtric’s.

“No, we’re alright.” He said at the same time as Sihtric answered:

“Yes.”

“Drinking’s not the answer.” Finan told him wryly.

“It’s never stopped you before.” Sihtric replied with a smirk. That was better, Finan thought, if Sihtric was in the mood to tease him.

Their ales arrived and this time Sihtric set to drinking his immediately instead of glaring at it.

“I should apologise to Uhtred.” He sighed as he finished his mug. Finan waved his hand dismissively.

“He’ll understand. He’s not happy with it either, but I suppose he’s used to it at the least. Alfred did send Young Uhtred off to the church after all.”

Finan suddenly had an idea. Young Uhtred had been given to the priests, and yet Finan himself had abducted him back out of the church under Uhtred’s orders. Admittedly, the poor lad had been there several years before Uhtred decided to “rescue” him, but still. A terrible plan began to form in his head.

“Now I’m a good Christian-”

Sihtric snorted.

“I’m _a_ Christian, but we have stolen a child from the church before and I’m sure we could do it again.” Finan leant in slightly across the table and lowered his voice. Sihtric stared at him for a second as he processed what Finan had said, then a slow smile spread across his face.

“I do feel this awful Danish compulsion to raid a church coming over me.” He grinned, and Finan wasn’t entirely sure if he was joking or not.

“Just to be clear,” Finan said, “Are we discussing the traditional stealing silver and burning monks business of raiding or a very specific raid to snatch another child from the hands of God?”

“Oh just the kidnapping.” Sihtric assured him, then paused. “A bit of silver?”

Finan sighed. “A bit of silver. If I don’t catch you doing it.”

“You won’t.” Sihtric promised.

“So.” Finan made a mental list of everything they’d need to plan. “First we need to find out which church Edward’s going to send Bitr to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know the English word "egg" comes directly from the old Norse.


	4. Chapter 4

“One last time. _Focus_ Finan.”

“Good evening, father. I have come to take confession.” Finan said in his best English accent. Uhtred pulled a face.

“You sound… strange.” Uhtred assessed. “Not quite English.”

“Well he doesn’t quite sound Irish either, which is the main thing.” Osferth chimed in.

“This is going to end badly.” Finan muttered as he adjusted his cloak against the breeze that was just picking up. In an attempt to hide the fact that Lord Uhtred’s loyal Irishman was taking confession the very night the baby placed in the Church’s charge disappeared he’d stripped himself of his armour, in the hopes of fooling the priests into thinking he was just another nondescript English peasant. He felt both horribly vulnerable and slightly chilly without it.

The plan was simple. Finan and Osferth would distract the priests with lengthy confessions, allowing Sihtric to slip into the church and retrieve Bitr unnoticed. They hoped. Uhtred would wait with Inge and the horses- he would be recognised by the priests, and couldn’t risk being caught should things go wrong.

The church was small- just a small building on the outskirts of Wintanceaster, and Bitr would only be there tonight before he was taken to the larger monastery in the morning. If they were to take him, it had to be now. Attempting to steal him from the monastery was too risky, too likely to alert Edward too soon. As it stood, they would have to ride hard and fast to return to Coccham to stay ahead of Edward, for Edward would almost definitely (and quite rightly) immediately assume it was Uhtred’s work.

It was late, the sun fully set almost an hour ago, and the only light was the warm glow coming from the windows of the church. It was now or never.

“Bet I can keep my priest occupied longer than you can yours.” Osferth nudged Finan with his elbow as they walked up the path to the church, Sihtric silently following in the shadows several paces behind.

“Oh you’re on, baby monk.”

The church thankfully only had two priests inside- things would have been much trickier had they not. The priests noticed them immediately, both exchanging frowns with each other before walking over to see what their visitors wanted.

“It’s late, what are you doing here?” the shorter of the two priests asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“We’ve come for confession, father. It won’t take long.” Osferth answered, which Finan was grateful for. He was feeling distinctly uneasy about his English accent, and the longer he put off having to use it the better.

“Of course, we have a donation. As part of the penance for our sins.” Osferth continued, drawing a pair of large silver broaches out of his cloak. The light was dim in the church, but Finan could have sworn he saw the pupils of both priests dilate. There were some priests out there who were not so easily taken in by the promise of silver. Father Beocca had been one, perhaps Pyrlig was another. But these two priests were cut from a different cloth, and the broaches were clearly worth enough for them to sit through a couple of late night confessions.

“Very well. Come.” The shorter priest gestured for Osferth to follow him, leaving Finan with the other. Finan’s priest grunted something at him and set off without a word. He followed the priest to the other end of the church, making sure to position himself so the priest was forced to face the wall, a mirror image of Osferth and his priest across the aisle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sihtric’s head peaking around the main door, and quickly looked away, turning his attention to the matter at hand.

“What’s your name, child?” the priest asked him. Finan had a slight moment of panic- he’d been so worried about the accent part of his deception he’d completely forgotten to think up a false name.

“Aethelwold.” He said the first name that came to mind.

“I am Father Godwin.” Father Godwin yawned. Finan took that as his cue to begin his confession.

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been many, many years since my last confession.” He began, trying his hardest to copy Osferth’s accent. To his relief Father Godwin didn’t notice anything amiss- or perhaps more likely, he didn’t care.

“And how have you sinned, child?” the priest asked.

“I have killed men, father. Bad ones mostly, but some good too I’d wager. So many men I could not count, father.” Finan decided that was a good place to start. For the next few minutes he gave detailed descriptions of every battle, every scuffle he’d taken part in over the years. Godwin nodded, hardly listening, occasionally interjecting to ask if the many killings Finan had carried out had been in the name of God or for his own personal gain. Finan didn’t much see why it should make a difference- either way, the men were dead.

As he talked he tried not to watch as Sihtric crept into the church, crouching low to use the pews as cover as he slowly made his way down the aisle towards the small room at the back where Bitr was. Finan worried that Godwin was set to turn around at some point, but he just turned his neck slightly to rub at the muscles there.

“You must spend one hour a day, for a year, in reflective solitude as penance.” The priest told Finan as he finally finished relaying his list of kills. “God be with you.”

Father Godwin stood up, clearly thinking the confession was over. Finan shot a quick look over to the door behind the altar- it was slightly ajar, and he couldn’t remember if it had been open when they’d come into the church.

“Ah, I have more sins, father, if you’d listen.” Finan said quickly. He fished inside his cloak and retrieved a couple of coins which he handed to Godwin. The priest sat back down and Finan breathed a sigh of relief.

“I have been a drunk. Often, and with few regrets.” He said. “I’ve lied. I’ve even stolen. I’ve consorted with pagans and desecrated holy ground in the process.”

“Your donations to the church today will serve as penance.” Father Godwin was definitely bored now, and likely thinking of his bed.

“I have found joy in the misfortune of others. A nun- a novice fell asleep during mass once, father, and I laughed.”

“That is not a sin.” Godwin said tersely.

“Are you certain?” Finan asked.

“Quite.”

Finan could swear he could hear the priest’s teeth grinding together and calculated that he wouldn’t have much time left. He was relieved to catch sight of Sihtric slowly creeping back out through the church, Bitr bundled up in his arms, and carried on with his list of confessions.

“I have lain with women out of wedlock. I have lain with a man out of wedlock too, and enjoyed it. All of it.”

“How many wom- no matter. Add a total of 15 winters fasting to your penance.”

“At least half of those women I took from behind.” Finan added.

“16 winters fasting.” Father Godwin sighed.

“Last year I forgot to observe not only the first but the second week of Lent.” Finan was aware that Sihtric was now safely out of the church, and that Osferth had just finished his own confession, but he pushed on. “I have blasphemed, father, many times. I have taken not only the Lord’s name in vain but that of the blessed Virgin Mary and, once, the Angel Gabriel.”

“Observe Lent for two extra weeks this year and donate one silver coin each day for your blasphemy. Now is that _all_?”

“Yes, father. Thank you.” Finan gave Godwin his best innocent smile.

“Then go in peace.” It was perhaps more of an order than a polite blessing, but Finan eagerly left the church.

Osferth hadn’t waited for him, and Finan broke out into a run as he made for Uhtred and the horses. He didn’t waste time putting his armour back on- if the priests discovered Bitr was gone they needed to put as much distance between them and Edward as possible.

Sihtric was already mounted, Bitr safely secured in a makeshift sling close to his chest. Thankfully, the baby had slept all the way through his kidnapping. Finan wondered what would have happened if he had woken and started crying. They would have escaped, of course: two priests were no match for them, but Edward would have been alerted immediately, and the success of their plan all rested on putting as much time between the kidnapping and eventual discovery as possible.

They rode through the night, a somewhat reckless decision but they knew the roads well, and they returned to Coccham deep in the dead of night. Inge had been fast asleep, safely wedged between Uhtred and the horse, and unhappily woke up when they pulled the horses up by the stables.

“Where are we?” she mumbled as Finan lifted her down from the horse.

“Home.” He told her, shifting his arms so she could be comfortably carried. She wrapped her arms around his neck and seemed to fall back asleep.

“There’ll be space for the children in the hall.” Uhtred said, his voice low.

Coccham was fast asleep, save for the two watchers camped out in their towers, and their tired group quietly made its way to the great hall. Finan saw Inge to a bed as Sihtric searched for Stiorra’s old cradle, then decided crossing the village to reach his own bed was beyond him. There was plenty of spare bedding in the hall, and Finan forced himself to stay awake long enough to pull together a pile of blankets to crawl under. He was joined immediately by Sihtric, who wrapped himself around Finan like a cloak.

“Thank you.” He murmured, as Finan drifted off to sleep. He didn’t have to say what for.

****

In what was becoming a horrific normality, Finan was woken by Bitr crying. Beside him, Sihtric groaned and pulled a blanket over his head in an attempt to muffle the noise. It couldn’t have made much of a difference- Bitr’s lungs were powerful enough to wake the dead. Finan prodded Sihtric.

“You wanted to steal him from Edward, you go and see what the matter is.”

Sihtric said something incomprehensible from under the blanket, and Finan got the distinct impression he was fully prepared to go back to sleep. The crying continued, and was only broken by Uhtred’s own cry.

“Sihtric!”

At the sound of his lord’s voice Sihtric’s head emerged from under the blanket.

“Take the baby and go to Orva. Tell her I sent you.” Uhtred called down from his own bed.

Orva was one of Coccham’s women, and had recently given birth. The Danish nurse they’d been using for Bitr had remained in Wintanceaster, and Uhtred had hoped Orva would take over feeding Bitr until they could find him a proper nurse. Finan kept his eyes closed, trying to hold onto sleep as he felt Sihtric stir next to him, and finally the sound of Bitr’s cries grew more and more distant as Sihtric took him from the hall.

Finan slept a while longer, and was later woken by the much more preferable sound of food being served. He rubbed the remnants of sleep from his eyes as he sat up, watching as food was brought out from the kitchen and into the hall. Sihtric and Osferth were already sat at the table, taking it in turns to point at the very items of food and repeating the English names to Inge. If they weren’t careful, the girl would be able to talk about food and food alone.

“Finally awake?” Sihtric joked as Finan slid onto the bench next to him.

“Hmm.” Finan agreed, still groggy.

“Orva still has Bitr, you can sleep in peace for a while longer if you wish.”

“No. Food.” Finan rested his head on Sihtric’s shoulder as the other man poured him a drink and passed him some bread.

The food helped to wake him up, and soon the events of the night before began to feel like a dream. The priests would have discovered Bitr was gone by now, and Finan wondered when they’d tell Edward. Hopefully, they’d choose to look for the baby themselves before reporting to the king, in an attempt to escape his displeasure. The more time they had to prepare, the better.

“If anyone asks you, we were never at the church.” Finan told Inge solemnly. She looked at him in confusion.

“But we were.”

He sighed. “Yes, I know we _were_ , but you have to pretend that we _weren’t_. It’s a game. A game grown-ups play where sometimes we say things that aren’t true. You like games, right?”

“This one sounds boring.” Inge said with the characteristic brutal honesty of a child.

“If you promise to play this game, we’ll let you play with our cat.” Sihtric tried. Inge’s eyes lit up immediately.

“You have a cat?”

“We do. A cat I should probably go and retrieve from Hild.” Finan said.

“I’ll come!” Inge said excitedly.

“You’ll finish your porridge first.” Sihtric told her sternly. Finan had often forgotten Sihtric was a father, but watching him with Inge and Bitr it was clear to see, and Finan loved it. Inge pouted, and stabbed her spoon back into the remains of her porridge.

“And you’ll remember that if you’re asked, we came straight here from Wintanceaster.” Finan added as he stood up. He pressed a kiss to Sihtric’s head, then on an impulse dropped a kiss on Inge too. She rubbed her hands over her hair as if to remove it.

It wasn’t hard to find Hild: as Finan made his way to the nunnery she was also making her way there, returning from the church. She smiled as she saw him, slowing her pace to allow him to catch up.

“I see my warriors have returned.” She gave him a hug as she greeted him.

“We could never leave you, abbess.” Finan said as he returned the hug.

“I worry about that fact daily.” Hild laughed as they walked along. “I assume you’ve come for your cat?”

“I have indeed, although between you and me you’re welcome to keep her.”

“Liar.”

Hild disappeared into the nunnery and returned a minute later, Lady Uhtred in her arms. The cat had clearly been spoilt by the nuns, as she was quite a bit larger than when they had left her. She yowled when she saw Finan. He hoped it was a good yowl.

“Bet she’s been nothing but trouble.” As much as she had annoyed him initially, Finan was glad to have her back. She purred contentedly as Hild deposited her into his arms.

“She’s been perfectly well behaved, actually.” Hild fondly stroked Uhtred’s head. “She even caught a mouse the other day.”

“Did she? Well maybe you can finally earn your keep.” Finan told the cat, who turned away from him and looked back at Hild. Making some sort of point, Finan assumed.

“I don’t mean to pry, but I couldn’t help notice that you seem to have acquired a baby on your travels. The messenger from Edward said you’d be bringing back a girl, and a girl alone.” Hild didn’t directly ask the question, but it was implicit in her tone. The abbess had the most uncanny knack of extracting information in the gentlest way possible: often Finan had confessed his misdeeds to her without realising what he was doing.

“The official word is that he’s Sihtric’s bastard.” He said, then lowered his voice, “But truth is we stole him from Edward.”

“You stole the king’s- I didn’t even know Edward had _had_ another child.” Hild hissed in the same lowered tones. Finan laughed at her assumption.

“No it’s not Edward’s baby. It’s Harald’s, both the children are. Edward wanted to split them up and-“ he finished his sentence with a shrug, letting Hild work out the rest.

“Edward won’t like this.” She warned him.

“Edward doesn’t have to.”

Hild struggled for a moment, presumably weighing up her godly nature to tell the truth and follow the king’s orders against her loyalty to Uhtred and his men.

“I suppose it can only be a good thing reuniting the boy with his sister.” She said eventually.

“God is good, abbess.” Finan said with a grin. She shook her head.

“Out. Out of my nunnery. I’ll not have you corrupting the novices.” Her words had no sting, as they were said with a smile, and Finan happily left. He was a short distance away from the nunnery when a voice called out from behind him.

“Did you really steal a baby from the church?” one of the novices was leaning over the garden wall, having clearly eavesdropped on Finan’s conversation.

“I did.” He said cautiously. He recognised her: she was the novice he often caught sight of taking a nap during Mass, and come to think of it he had once found her eating the plants in the nunnery garden instead of tending to them. Cynwise, he thought her name was, recalling Hild complaining about a particularly free-spirited novice one time. Cynwise grinned mischievously at him.

“I wish someone had stolen me.” She said savagely, and Finan laughed. “How did you do it? Did you disguise yourselves as monks? Did you dig a tunnel underneath the building? Did you swap it for a bundle of rocks in a sheet?” she swung herself up onto the wall and perched on it, looking down at Finan expectantly. She looked rather old for a novice, considering the implication that she’d been with the church since birth. Lady Uhtred struggled in Finan's arms, and he let go of her. She immediately ran up the wall to perch next to Cynwise, who absently stroked her.

“Osferth and I distracted the priests: thought it was about time we confessed all of our sins. Unfortunately, sinner that I am, it took quite a while to get through them all. While we did that Sihtric managed to sneak inside and take the baby.” Finan told her.

Cynwise laughed, and Finan found himself laughing too. It was a surreal story, after all, and now they were well away from Wintanceaster it seemed less serious than it had at the time. Chances were, Edward wouldn’t even bother spending time and resources in trying to take Bitr back.

“Could I borrow your stolen baby?” Cynwise asked him abruptly.

“I’m not sure you want him: he bites.” Finan warned her, though he was intrigued as to what she was thinking.

“Even better.” She smiled dangerously. “I want see if I can convince the other novices I’ve had a miraculous virgin birth. It will be hilarious! Especially if he bites one of them. I hope it’s Blaedswith. I can’t stand her.”

It was perhaps the stupidest plan Finan had ever heard, and he’d spent years at Uhtred’s side.

“Are you sure you should be in a nunnery?” he asked her, trying very hard not to laugh at the thought of Hild being confronted with what was definitely not a virgin birth.

“Of course not!” Cynwise said. “That’s why I need to liven things up a little bit. It makes life here a little more bearable.”

“I’m sure Hild wouldn’t begrudge you leaving if you told her your heart wasn’t in it.” Finan told her, and meant it. Hild was the most understanding person he knew, and if she knew that one of her novices wasn’t happy in her care she would never force her to stay.

“I’ve nowhere else to go.” She said, all traces of mirth gone from her voice. “No family, nothing. At least here I have a bed, and food, and people to protect me from rampaging Danes.”

“I’m sorry.” Finan said. He didn’t know what else to say.

“It’s alright. Or it will be, if you let me borrow your baby.” She perked up a little again. Finan laughed.

“Ask me again when you have a better plan.” He told her, turning to leave.

“Oh I will.” She called after him, letting Lady Uhtred go. The cat ran after Finan and looped around his legs as he walked.

Poor girl, Finan thought as he walked back to the hall, then: poor Hild.

****

The following days seemed to pass at an excruciatingly slow pace, as Finan spent every waking moment wondering if Edward would send a messenger demanding to know if Uhtred had been behind Bitr’s disappearance. Sihtric however seemed unfairly relaxed about the whole situation, dividing his time between building a space for Inge and Bitr to sleep in their house and telling anyone who would listen that Bitr was his bastard son. Finan, for his part, put all his energy into stepping up the training drills for Uhtred’s household guard, a fact that amused Uhtred no end.

“Edward has bigger things to worry about.” Uhtred told him on one occasion, when he’d entered the hall to find Finan taking an inventory of their weapons. “And everyone here now thinks Bitr is Sihtric’s. You do not need to worry.”

“I’m not worrying, I’m preparing.” Finan had replied, and tried to convince himself that that was the truth.

After a week of waiting with nothing to show for it, Finan began to relax, and started to adjust to his new life as a parent. It had never been explicitly discussed, and Finan couldn’t recall the decision ever actually being made, but everyone seemed to accept that he and Sihtric would take care of the children.

Finan had always thought he’d have a family, had always wanted children at some point in his life, but given his relationship with Sihtric he had long since come to terms with the fact that that particular dream would likely remain as just a dream. Realising that they would be raising Inge and Bitr however was a welcome revelation, and Finan threw himself into becoming a father with vigour. He learnt how to change and bathe Bitr, and set about trying to properly teach Inge English. He would definitely have to add a wall and door to his and Sihtric's bed though- Finan hadn't been able to do more than kiss his Dane since they'd returned, and it was slowly driving him mad.

Cynwise stayed true to her word, and did indeed come back to Finan with numerous other plans for how to use Bitr, though each of them somehow managed to sound more disastrous than the last. Inge took a liking to her immediately, and Finan would let her go and play with the novice in the nunnery garden. Her English improved dramatically as a result, though he did worry about what sort of things Cynwise was teaching her.

A fortnight passed in this manner, and Finan thought he had never been happier. That was, of course, until fate had her way, and Edward finally rode to Coccham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up common Christian penances for this and apparently along with adultery and incest one of the things men had to atone and fast for was doing their wives doggy style so RIP to Aethelred's diet (and RIP to Aethelred).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! I actually meant this whole thing to be a oneshot but eh, it got a bit away from me.

It was a peaceful morning in Coccham. Peaceful, mostly, due to Bitr having run out of energy to scream during the night, and now silently sleeping in his crib. Sihtric was taking advantage of the quiet by napping, and Finan would have joined him had it not been for Inge’s sudden instance that he teach her to make bread. She'd picked up the word from someone in the village, and once she'd made the link between the English and Danish decided she wanted to go a step further and make some.

“Here, knead it with your hands.” Finan passed her the dough and demonstrated how to punch and pull it. Inge made a face and prodded the dough with a single finger. They had learnt early on that she disliked being dirty, and that dislike apparently included mixing the dough with her bare hands. She’d happily poured the flour and oats and water into the bowl, but had staunchly refused to do any of the mixing after seeing how the clouds of flour had stuck to Finan’s arms and clothes.

“You do it.” She said in Danish, covering her hand with her sleeve and pushing the dough back to Finan.

“You’ll have to do this one day.” He told her.

“But I have you.” She replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she leaned in to watch him work.

Finan snorted and pummelled the dough, waiting until Inge was fully distracted before dipping his hand into the bag of flour and wiping it on her nose. She shrieked, and wiped her nose with her sleeve, then wiped the sleeve on Finan for good measure. She stood a good step away from him, watching him through narrowed eyes, before suddenly lunging for the flour, scooping up a handful and throwing it at him.

“Hey.” Finan tried to grab at her but she jumped away, wiping her floury hand on her dress. She laughed at him, skipping around the house as he chased her. Finan let her dodge him for a while, but then tackled her around the waist and started tickling her.

“No!” she cried out through her giggles, trying to curl up into herself to escape the tickling.

Finan belatedly thought that half their household were currently sleeping, and the shrieking and giggling were probably not conducive to keeping things that way, but it was too late. Sihtric had been woken up, and made his displeasure known by throwing a pillow at Finan’s head. Bitr, thankfully, slept through the noise.

“I think we should say sorry to Sihtric.” Finan whispered into Inge’s ear. “Together?”

She nodded. Finan held up three fingers, then two, then one.

“Sorry.” Inge called up to Sihtric, at the same time as Finan said:

“It was all Inge’s fault.”

Inge pulled her arms up inside her dress and hit him with the sleeves.

“Inge, I thought I told you to watch Finan.” Sihtric said in mock disapproval, peering down from the ledge that held their bed.

“He’s useless.” Inge sighed. Sihtric laughed.

“Alright, how’s about I go and apologise to Sihtric, and you go and sweep up the flour?” Finan asked Inge. She studied him for a moment, clearly debating whether she could get away with disobeying him, but thankfully deciding to do what he asked.

Finan climbed the ladder up to their bed space, crawling up the mattress to lie next to Sihtric.

“I’m sorry for waking you.” He whispered, leaning over to kiss Sihtric’s cheek.

“Are you?” Sihtric rolled over to face him, arching an eyebrow.

“Of course.” Finan kissed him on the mouth this time, lips pressing together just for a moment. “I’ll apologise properly, if you’d like.”

He kissed Sihtric again, deeper this time, reaching one hand around to cup the back of his head and hold him close. Sihtric’s mouth opened against his, and Finan nipped his lower lip gently with his teeth before soothing it with another kiss.

“The children are downstairs.” Sihtric said, in English so that Inge wouldn’t listen in.

“We’ll give them to Uhtred, or Cynwise.” Finan replied, sliding a leg between Sihtric’s and moving gently against him as he kissed him again. He felt Sihtric buck against his thigh and pressed harder, moving his hand from Sihtric’s head to run down his side, coming to rest on his hip.

“Then go to Uhtred.” Sihtric said against Finan’s lips.

“Right away.” Finan sat upright and scrambled down the ladder.

Inge had swept up most of the flour into a neat pile, and was chasing the few stray patches that Lady Uhtred had trod across the floor when Finan reached the bottom of the ladder. He was all set to ready her to take to Uhtred when someone knocked at the door. Finan opened it to find Osferth standing outside, hand already raised to knock again. His brows were furrowed, and he’d clearly run over to their house. Even before he said anything, Finan knew what his call was about.

“Edward. Edward’s here. Uhtred needs you and Sihtric in the hall, now.”

“What about the children?” Finan asked, as Inge appeared behind him, clinging to his leg as she looked up at Osferth.

“I’ll watch them, if you like.” Osferth offered, clearly wanting no part of what was happening between Uhtred and Edward. Finan nodded his agreement, and pulled on his armour as Osferth greeted Inge. It wasn’t that he was particularly expecting the king to stab him, but it made him feel more prepared. Sihtric didn’t bother with his armour, but he did pick up his axe.

“Ready?” Sihtric asked as he watched Finan do up the final clasps on his armour.

“Ready.” Finan replied. As ready as he would ever be.

****

To put it frankly, Edward was not happy. He was sat at the great table wearing a sour expression that would have made Aelswith proud if she had seen it. A face that would spoil milk, Finan thought, remembering his mother’s words regarding the first girl he’d ever loved.

“Lord.” Finan nodded in greeting as they entered the hall, deciding denial was the best course of action to take. “What a surprise. I trust you had a pleasant journey?”

“The journey was, yes Finan, though the circumstances in which I find myself travelling are less so.” Edward replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Finan sat down in his usual place at Uhtred’s side. Sihtric stayed standing behind them, casting a dark look at Edward. “What’s the trouble now, lord? We’ve had no words from our spies about movement in any of the Danish camps.”

“It’s not the Danes, it’s Uhtred.” Edward looked like he was having a very hard time keeping it together. Uhtred looked like he was rather enjoying the whole situation.

“Well, he is trouble, that’s true. I can vouch for that.” Finan joked.

“This isn’t a laughing matter.” Edward spat.

“Would you care to tell us what the matter is then, lord?” Uhtred asked courteously. He was stretched out in his chair as if proving he had nothing to hide.

“The matter, as I’m sure you’re well aware, regards the Danish child. The boy. He was stolen away from the Church a fortnight past before he could be given to the monastery, as per my orders.”

“That _does_ sound troublesome, I admit.” Finan said. “Who would dare take a child from the house of God?” he made the sign of the cross for emphasis.

“Uhtred would!” Edward’s patience had finally come to an end and he turned to face Uhtred, who simply raised his eyebrows in the face of the king’s rage.

“I would?” he asked politely.

“You wanted to take both the children back to Coccham. You stole your own son away from the Church. Throughout my life and my father’s you have constantly gone against our wishes and disobeyed orders as and when it suited you!” Edward was slowly turning red in the face. Uhtred pretended to look affronted.

“Lord, I have never stepped foot in that church. I swear it.” Uhtred took out his hammer amulet and grasped it in his hands. “On Thor’s hammer, I swear it.”

“Then _why_ , are my scouts reporting that your Dane there-” here Edward jerked his head towards Sihtric, “-suddenly has a baby.”

Finan didn’t take his eyes off Edward, but he knew that behind him Sihtric was shrugging.

“He is my son.” Sihtric said, his voice emotionless.

Edward sighed in exasperated. “You don’t have a wife.”

“No,” Sihtric agreed, “But you don’t need a wife to have a son.”

Edward seemed to be struggling with what to say. There were rumours, of course there were, that Uhtred’s two most loyal men preferred each other’s company to that of a woman, and without a doubt Edward would have heard these rumours, but to address them was another matter entirely.

“You’ll forgive me for finding that a little too convenient to believe.” Edward said after a while. “Who is the mother, hmm? Where is she? If you can produce this woman and have her swear that the child is hers, I _may_ believe you.”

Finan tried very hard not to look to Uhtred for guidance. They had discussed this, and thought it best that the mother of Sihtric’s supposed child be some nameless whore. They’d never expected Edward to be so determined as to demand to meet her. Finan’s mind raced as the silence stretched on, with Edward looking more and more satisfied that he’d caught them out with each passing second.

“She’s here, lord.” Finan blurted out, a plan suddenly coming to him. “Though, she does not like to speak about the child.”

“Of course she doesn’t.” Edward rolled his eyes. “I like you, Finan. You’ve not only fought for Wessex, but me as well. I would be willing to overlook your complicity in this if you stop lying on behalf of the heathens.”

“She does not like to speak about the child, lord,” Finan repeated, “Because she has since put her past life behind her and joined the Church. She lives here in Coccham’s nunnery, under the Abbess Hild. Would her testimony be enough to satisfy you?”

“Her name is Cynwise, lord.” Sihtric added, catching onto Finan’s plan.

“I don’t care what her name is, I care whether or not she agrees with this ridiculous story you’re trying to tell me.” Edward snapped. “You will bring her to me.”

“Yes lord.” Sihtric nodded and turned to leave, his fingers brushing against Finan’s shoulder in a show of reassurance as he left.

“Actually.” Edward stood up, and Finan’s heart sank. He knew what was coming. “I will give you no opportunity to convince this poor girl to lie for you. You shall bring me to her, instead.”

“Lord.” Sihtric agreed tersely and waited for Edward and the others to join him at the door.

They were accompanied by three of Edward’s men as they walked across to the nunnery, the guards falling into step behind their group. That did nothing to put Finan’s nerves to rest. He only hoped that Cynwise was quick enough to catch on. She would be game, he knew she would, as she would see the chance to fool the king as a great mischief, but he worried her surprise would end their deception.

Hild came out to greet them, and Finan realised there was another potential hitch in their plan: Hild had grudgingly accepted that stealing Bitr from Edward was the right thing to do, but he severely doubted that she would lie to her king’s face.

“Lord king, what brings you to Coccham?” she asked, though her eyes turned to Uhtred for the answer.

“The king would speak to Cynwise, Hild. Could you fetch her?” Uhtred said smoothly, before Edward could start throwing around his rather accurate accusations about kidnapping again.

“Of course.” Hild narrowed her eyes at Uhtred, but disappeared into the building. She reappeared moments later with Cynwise in tow, who startled when she saw Edward. Finan hoped her awe wouldn’t hinder her sharpness. Hild, however, would definitely speak out if she knew one of her novices was deceiving the king, and so Finan stepped in quickly.

“Hild, I’m sure the king would like to take communion later. Would you let Father Aidan know?”

“Yes, of course.” Hild smiled, then frowned at Finan, then excused herself. She would find out eventually, of course, and likely already knew exactly what was happening, but she was much less likely to say anything if they kept her away from the actual deception- she could pretend it never happened in that case. Edward, thankfully, didn’t seem to suspect anything, and seemed pleased that Finan had thought to prepare the priest.

Cynwise had stood looking confused throughout the short exchange, and Finan silently prayed that she would pick up on their plan. Edward seemed slightly shocked that they had actually managed to produce Bitr’s apparent mother, and Finan hoped that shock would work to their advantage.

“Cynwise, is it?” Edward asked her. She shot a quick sideways glance at Finan before nodding.

“It is, lord.”

“Cynwise, about a fortnight ago a child was stolen from a church in Wintanceaster. A baby, to be exact, a baby who I had arranged to be sent to be raised in a monastery.”

“How terrible, lord. Would you like me to pray for him?” Cynwise’s confused look had eased, and by the overly-innocent way in which she answered Finan knew they were safe. Well. As long as she didn’t try to convince Edward that Bitr had been a virgin birth.

“I’m trying to find that baby, Cynwise, and I have strong reason to suspect that Uhtred and his men kidnapped him. It seems more than suspicious that Sihtric here should suddenly have a son the same age as the one kidnapped from Wintanceaster, a son he’s claiming is yours.” Edward said, and Finan held his breath as he waited for Cynwise’s response. She was staring intently at the ground, and said nothing.

“Cynwise. You will answer your king.”

“The child _is_ mine, lord.” She said in a small voice, and as she looked up at them she had tears forming in her eyes, and her nose was twitching. “And oh, how it has shamed me. I gave into my baser instincts, lord, one moment of weakness and now.” She sobbed theatrically. “Now I have dedicated my life to God in penance, hoping that I can redeem myself in his most holy eyes.”

Edward looked quite taken aback by the display, and Finan didn’t blame him. Cynwise was actually crying now, though he suspected they were tears of laughter. Uhtred had covered his mouth with his hand, attempting to look disapproving but clearly trying to stifle his own laughter.

“Are you satisfied now, lord?” Uhtred asked, managing to put on a straight face. “Surely you cannot doubt the word of one sworn to God?”

“I cannot, Uhtred. You have my apologies. You also, Sihtric.” Edward said wearily.

“Please, lord, my king: will you excuse me? I cannot bear to look upon the cause of my sin any longer.” Cynwise begged Edward as she shielded her eyes from Sihtric. Finan suspected she really needed to be excused so she could go and laugh somewhere where she wouldn’t be heard, but Edward was looking more and more uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“I… ah, thank you, Cynwise. You may go now. God bless you.” He said.

“Thank you, my lord.” Cynwise took another pointed look at Sihtric then ran back into the nunnery, head in her hands.

“I did say she does not like to speak about the child.” Finan couldn’t help saying, and Sihtric had to hastily turn his laugh into a cough. Finan couldn’t believe that they had got away with it. It had taken more than a little bit of luck, and Finan made a note to thank Cynwise properly later.

“Lord, I am sorry you have had a wasted journey.” Uhtred turned to look at Edward expectantly, who in turn sighed and lifted his crown up to rub at his forehead.

“I am sorry for accusing you in such a fashion, Uhtred, but you have to see things from my perspective. Everything pointed to you and your men taking the baby.” Edward said.

“Perhaps that’s what you were meant to think, lord.” Uhtred said. “There are many people who would try to destroy the trust between us.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Edward agreed. He looked very young in that moment, a child who had blustered his way into a situation he now had no idea what to do with.

“Would you care to pray now, perhaps, lord?” Finan asked as a way of removing Edward.

The king sighed.

“I think I need to, Finan.”

“You’ll forgive us if we don’t join you.” Uhtred said with a slight smirk, and Edward nodded. The king walked away to the church, guards dutifully following, and Finan blew his breath out.

“He’s going to think one of his ealdormen is plotting against him.” Sihtric said to Uhtred once Edward was safely out of earshot. “Is that wise?”

Uhtred shrugged. “One of them probably is.”

“I think,” Finan said to them both, “You’re focusing on the wrong thing here. We won. We lied to the king’s face and got away with it. I think _that_ deserves a drink.”

****

“I know we owe you for what you did with Edward, but is there room in that good Christian heart of yours for one more favour?”

It was a new day, and Edward had departed Coccham at first light. In Finan’s mind, that meant things could (and should) go back to how they were before he had arrived in the first place: namely, trying to get Cynwise to look after the children so Finan could have Sihtric against every wall in their house.

“It’s either this or mucking out the stables.” Cynwise said cheerfully, bending down so she was the same height as Inge. Finan had seen her briefly after Edward had left, and passed on her gratitude for her help in their deception. She had laughed, and told him it had been great fun to watch the king of Wessex squirm.

“And how is my favourite girl doing?” Cynwise asked Inge in English. Inge had learnt quite a few English words by now, and managed to get the general gist of sentences from tone and circumstance. Cynwise, for her part, seemed to know a few choice words of Danish and nothing else, so had been expressly forbidden from speaking Danish to the children.

Inge was clutching Lady Uhtred behind her back like a doll, and brought her forward to show off to Cynwise in answer. Lady Uhtred had few objections to being carried around by Inge- Finan suspected she was getting too lazy to walk.

“How are my _two_ favourite girls doing?” Cynwise corrected, petting Uhtred’s head. Inge waved one of the cat’s paws in response.

“So you’ll take them?” Finan asked.

Cynwise glanced at Bitr, who was gurgling in Finan’s arms. The baby was chewing on the edge of his blanket that he’d somehow managed to get into his mouth during the walk over, and he determinedly pushed more blanket into his mouth as if he knew Finan was about to try and pull it back out.

“Does he need feeding?” Cynwise asked suspiciously.

“He’s been fed, he’s been changed, and God willing he should be ready to sleep soon.” Finan said as he tugged the blanket out of Bitr’s mouth. “Just don’t leave him near anything he can put in his mouth. And no virgin birth schemes.”

“I won’t.” Cynwise promised. Finan didn’t quite believe her.

“You’ll keep an eye on them for me, won’t you?” he asked Inge. She nodded solemnly. “Good girl.”

“I’ll be back in a bit.” Finan promised Cynwise as he kissed the top of Inge’s head, then dutifully pretended to kiss Lady Uhtred as Inge held the cat out for him.

“Enjoy sinning.” Cynwise grinned as she took Bitr from him.

Finan resisted the urge to run back to the house, but definitely walked faster than usual, making certain not to make eye contact with anyone who might try to make conversation with him. He securely barred the door once he was back, turning round to triumphantly face Sihtric.

“They’re gone. God I love them but our house is quiet.”

“I agree.” Sihtric had been lounging on one of the chairs but stood up when Finan entered, walking over to him to wrap him in a hug. Finan enjoyed the embrace for a moment, then tilted his head to softly kiss along Sihtric’s jawline to his lips. Sihtric returned the kiss, opening his mouth to let Finan in, his hands running up Finan’s back as the kiss deepened and became more urgent. They had sent the children out for one reason and for one reason only, and weren't about to waste any more time.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.” Finan growled, grabbing the hem of Sihtric’s tunic and pulling it up over his head. Sihtric allowed himself to be manhandled as Finan pushed him up against the wall, resuming their kiss with a clash of teeth and tongues.

For once, Finan was prepared to take his time, lingering over every inch of Sihtric’s skin as he kissed his way down his chest. He teased Sihtric’s nipples one by one with his teeth and then his tongue, delighting in the way he could feel his lover harden against him. Sihtric was panting softly as Finan reached the top of his trousers, and he let his head fall back against the wall as Finan tugged the laces apart and slowly rolled his trousers down.

Finan helped Sihtric step out of his trousers, then settled himself on the floor in front of his cock. Sihtric was fully hard, his cock jutting out at just the right height for Finan to lean forward and take it in his mouth. Finan bobbed his head and managed to take almost the whole length before pulling back to gently suckle at the tip. He licked up the shaft, tongue running teasing circles over the length as one of his hands cupped Sihtric’s balls, playing with the sensitive skin. He looked up at Sihtric as he alternated between long and short sucks, knowing how much the Dane loved to watch him do this.

Finan pushed down further, determined to take Sihtric as deep as he could, and hummed with pleasure when he felt the tip of Sihtric’s cock brush against the back of his throat. He held himself there for a moment, nose pressed up against Sihtric’s stomach, before slowly pulling off. He repeated this a few times, then bent his head further down to lap at Sihtric’s balls, before returning his attention to his cock. Sihtric was keening now, his hips shallowly thrusting in time with Finan’s movements, and Finan sucked harder, drawing a soft moan out of him.

“Finan.” Sihtric groaned, his voice low and rough. “I need more.”

“More what?” Finan teased, replacing his mouth with his hand on Sihtric’s cock.

“I need you inside me.” Sihtric sounded wrecked. “Your cock, your fingers, anything.”

“Say please.” Finan gently pumped Sihtric’s cock as he said the words they’d both taken to saying to Inge the past week. Sihtric glared at him.

“Finan.” He said instead, putting all his want into that one word. It made Finan’s own cock twitch just hearing his name said like that, but he resolutely ignored it for the sake of tormenting Sihtric.

“That didn’t sound like ‘please’.” He said, reaching under Sihtric’s balls to brush a finger across his hole. He left his finger resting there, just a light pressure on the rim. Sihtric was struggling, his desire to have Finan inside him battling his stubbornness.

“Please.” He said eventually, turning his head away so he didn’t have to look at Finan’s satisfied smirk.

“Good boy.” Finan said, and pushed the tip of his finger inside. He didn’t get far, as he hadn’t used any oil, but Sihtric still let out a noise of contentment and clenched around the digit.

“Jesus.” Finan muttered to himself as he moved his finger in and out a few times, before withdrawing completely and standing back up.

“Over the table.” He ordered, taking the chance to rid himself of his clothes as Sihtric went and lent across their table, his arse at the perfect height for Finan.

Finan found the nearest jar of oil and liberally coated his fingers, then leant over to kiss Sihtric’s neck. He reached down to slip his finger back into Sihtric’s arse, managing to get the whole of his finger in this time, and Sihtric let out a breath and pushed back. For a while Finan let him set the pace, but soon took charge, adding a second finger and building up the speed of his thrusts, switching between spreading his fingers to stretch Sihtric open and pushing in deep to hit the spot that had the other man moaning like a whore.

“Another.” Sihtric said after a while, and Finan stilled, letting three fingers rest tantalisingly at his entrance.

“Another?” He asked, the unspoken demand hanging in the air.

“Please.” Sihtric ground out, Finan obliged, fucking and stretching him with three fingers as Sihtric rested more and more weight on the table and less on his feet. He was panting softly, his hands gripping the far side of the table, and Finan thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight.

“Ready for my cock yet?” Finan asked, as he teased Sihtric’s rim with his fourth finger. “I think you know what to say.” He added, leaning in to breathe the words into Sihtric’s neck.

“Yes. Please, Finan. Now.” Sihtric’s voice was muffled, and he spoke the words more to the table than to Finan, but it was enough.

“Well, as you asked so nicely.” Finan laughed as he slicked his cock up.

He steadied Sihtric with one hand on his hip as the other hand guided his cock inside. Sihtric was still wonderfully tight, despite their preparation, and Finan had to pause for a minute once he had thrust all the way in to get used to the sensation. It had been too long, and he did not want it over so soon.

Sihtric dutifully lay still as he waited for Finan to adjust, but as soon as Finan started to gently rock his hips he replied in kind, and they settled into a slow but steady rhythm. God, but Sihtric felt amazing, and it took all of Finan’s self control not to let loose and hump him like a dog in heat.

The table started to squeak alarmingly as their pace quickened, and as much as Finan was lost in the moment part of him was still aware enough to not want to break their only table. He pulled out, laughing silently at the disappointed noise Sihtric made.

“How about against the wall?” He suggested, and Sihtric wordlessly got up, moving to brace himself against the wall.

Finan followed, wasting no time in pushing back inside his Dane. This was better than the table, he thought, as Sihtric had more purchase to push back on. The position also allowed Finan to comfortably reach around and take Sihtric in his hand, jerking him off to the time of his thrusts. After just a few strokes Sihtric’s hips stuttered, and Finan knew he was close.

“Come on.” He huffed out as he sped up. “Let go. Come for me.”

Sihtric choked back a noise as he humped Finan’s hand, his own thrusts faltering as came. The feeling of Sihtric coming undone around him was enough to push Finan to his own peak, and he came deep inside Sihtric, thrusting in a couple more times before pulling out and resting his head against the other man’s slumped shoulders.

“God that was good.” He laughed as Sihtric caught his breath.

“Very.” Sihtric agreed, turning away from the wall to kiss Finan. They were both sweaty and sticky, but Finan didn’t care one bit as he pressed their bodies together in order to kiss Sihtric deeper. When they finally pulled apart it was with great reluctance, and they silently set about washing and dressing.

“We should probably retrieve the children.” Finan said once he had his boots back on. It had only been a couple of weeks, but their house already seemed empty without them. Empty, but wonderfully quiet.

“In a moment.” Sihtric replied, sitting down on their bench and pulling Finan down with him. “I find I’m enjoying the peace.”

****

They went to pick up the children together, and Cynwise made it very clear that she would be calling in the favours they owed her soon as she passed a sleeping Bitr over to Sihtric.

“I have a plan.” She said gravely, and refused to elaborate further.

Inge was starting to fall asleep too, as she had clearly been worn out by whatever game she had been playing with Cynwise and the other novices. Finan picked her up to sit on his back so she could have a ride home, though he drew the line at her taking Lady Uhtred up onto his shoulders with her. The cat would have to walk, for once. The exercise would do it good.

“Just a moment.” Hild came out of the nunnery just as their little group was leaving. Finan groaned.

“Hild, if this is about the Edward situation-”

“It’s not. Well it is, slightly. It’s the baby. I don’t suppose it’s occurred to either of you, but you cannot call him Bitr forever. Or rather, you should not.” Hild reproached. “He should have a new name, for a new life, although after Lady Uhtred I do worry about leaving the naming in your hands.”

Sihtric looked down at the baby fast asleep in his arms and shrugged.

“I suppose.” He said.

A memory suddenly came to Finan, from the aftermath of Tettenhall. He’d saved Sihtric’s life then, and made Sihtric promise something in return. He grinned and raised an eyebrow at the other man.

“Do you remember your promise? After Tettenhall?”

“What promise?” Hild looked between them both and sighed. “Tettenhall is not a good name for a child.”

“Oh I don’t know, I think it has a nice sound to it.” Finan joked, and laughed at the expression on Hild’s face. “Joking, Hild. I think Sihtric has a name in mind.”

“We’ll call him Finan.” Sihtric had a small smile on his face. “Finan Sihtricson.”

“I’ll never understand you men naming your own children after yourselves.” Hild shook her head, but she was also smiling. “I think it suits him. He’s loud and smelly and has caused us no end of trouble with the king.”

“Such cruel words coming out of one so pure.” Finan pretended to be shocked.

“It comes from a place of love.” Hild told him, then stepped forward to gently kiss the baby’s head.

“Welcome to Coccham, little Finan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks. This is by no means the best thing I've ever written but damn did I enjoy writing it! I might write something from Sihtric's POV later, as I realise this whole series has been very much Finan focused.  
> I'm in the middle of an Aethelflaed/Aldhelm fic atm though, so if that floats anyone's boat look out for that in the next few days.  
> And obvs. Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> My friend has a kitten who recently got stuck on someone else's roof and refused to come down and let me tell you that's real awkward when you're in the middle of a lockdown.


End file.
